The 37-year-old from Bursledon had been helping his friend repair a fire-damaged storage barn at Dodwell Farm Limited on Pylands Lane on 9 February 2023. The father-of-one had been at the top of a sloped roof fixing new panels to timbers, but they weren’t strong enough to hold his weight. They gave way when he stood on them and he fell through to the hard surface about 10 metres below. The injuries he sustained were severe and resulted in an extended period in hospital.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that safety measures such as barriers, netting or access equipment were not in place.
Dodwell Farm Limited had failed to take appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of workers, and others affected by the work, when replacing the barn roof.
Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces. HSE guidance is available.
The man fell approximately 10 metres through the barn roof
Dodwell Farm Limited of Bursledon pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £133,000 and was ordered to pay £8,816 costs plus £2,000 surcharge at a hearing at Southampton Magistrates Court on 3 Jan 2025.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Nicola Pinckney said: “Too many workers are injured and killed every year as a result of falling from height.
“The sentence imposed on Dodwell Farm Limited should underline to everyone who carries out work at height that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to follow the regulations extremely seriously.
“Measures to prevent the accident, such as avoiding working from the roof, protecting fragile surfaces and having netting in place, are well known and readily available.
“HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all that they should to keep people safe.”
This HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and paralegal Helen Jacob.
Tips
You must make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job. You must use the right type of equipment for working at height.
Take a sensible approach when considering precautions. Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks will require less effort when it comes to planning and there may be some low-risk situations where common sense tells you no particular precautions are necessary.
Considering the risks associated with work at height and putting in place sensible and proportionate measures to manage them is an important part of working safely. Follow this simple step-by-step guide to help you control risks when working at height.
Can you avoid working at height in the first place? If no, go to prevent
Do as much work as possible from the ground. Some practical examples include:
using extendable tools from ground level to remove the need to climb a ladder
installing cables at ground level
lowering a lighting mast to ground level
ground-level assembly of edge protection
Can you prevent a fall from occurring? If no, go to minimise
You can do this by:
using an existing place of work that is already safe, eg a non-fragile roof with a permanent perimeter guardrail or, if not
using work equipment to prevent people from falling
Some practical examples of collective protection when using an existing place of work:
a concrete flat roof with existing edge protection, or guarded mezzanine floor, or plant or machinery with fixed guard rails around it
Some practical examples of collective protection using work equipment to prevent a fall:
mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) such as scissor lifts
tower scaffolds
scaffolds
using a work restraint (travel restriction) system that prevents a worker getting into a fall position
Can you minimise the distance and/or consequences of a fall?
If the risk of a person falling remains, you must take sufficient measures to minimise the distance and/or consequences of a fall.
Practical examples of collective protection using work equipment to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall:
safety nets and soft landing systems, eg air bags, installed close to the level of the work
industrial rope access, eg working on a building façade
fall arrest system using a high anchor point
Using ladders and stepladders
For tasks of low risk and short duration, ladders and stepladders can be a sensible and practical option.
If your risk assessment determines it is correct to use a ladder, you should further minimise the risk by making sure workers:
use the right type of ladder for the job
are competent (you can provide adequate training and/or supervision to help)
use the equipment provided safely and follow a safe system of work
are fully aware of the risks and measures to help control them
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